The City of Morgantown filed a lawsuit seeking permission to demolish an unsafe structure because the building’s owner has not complied with a demolition order.
Herold Berthy, owner of 619 Brockway Ave., is named as the defendant in the suit, which was filed in Monongalia County Circuit Court last week.
That home caught fire on Feb. 28 and on March 3 a demolition order was issued by the city’s Code Enforcement office.
The house was condemned in July 2019 as an unsafe structure, according to the demolition order. The fire caused additional damage and was secured by the city after the fire, but people have broken into the property since.
“Based on the condition of the property following the fire, the code official orders that the structure is so deteriorated as to be dangerous, unsafe, insanitary, and unfit for human habitation that it is unreasonable to repair the structure, and you are hereby ordered to demolish and remove the structure,” the order said.
Berthy was given two days from the receipt of the notice to give the city a signed demolition contract or “the city will raze and remove the structure at your expense.”
“I’d hoped we wouldn’t have to do that,” Morgantown Mayor Bill Kawecki said. “There are a number of very responsible landlords and I’m pleased at that. There are a few that are a problem and unfortunately we need to find a way to solve those problems.”
Under the 2015 International Building Code, which includes the International Property Maintenance Code, which Morgantown uses, an unsafe structure is defined as one that is “so damaged, decayed, dilapidated, structurally unsafe that it is a dangerous structure,” according to the suit.
The IPMC also authorizes the city to order the demolition of a property deemed dangerous, unsafe or otherwise unfit for human habitation. The code prohibits the city from doing the demolition itself without the consent of the owner, which Berthy has not given, according to the suit.
If the owner doesn’t comply, municipalities are advised to seek an order through the local circuit court to demolish the structure through its own personnel or by contract at the owner’s costs as well as fees and costs from any legal action taken.
Berthy could not be reached for comment.
